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Why You Need More Than Demographics to Sell Ads

For decades, every media kit has been touting the same basic demographics: number of readers, gender, ages, HHI, geographies, education, job title, industry, buying intent, authority (ability to buy), budget, etc. In the ‘70s, the kits began to include psychographics — beliefs, attitudes, opinions, and values.

Both psychographics and demographics are important for building a portrait of your audience. But often that information is no longer enough to distinguish your media property from a competitor’s. Advertisers have more choices than ever before. Especially given how buying behavior has dramatically changed.

Your advertisers are hungry to know more about who buys their products or services. They’re desperate for information to improve their messages, target their brands, and influence sales.

Media companies with behavioral data about their audience have a distinct competitive advantage. Why? Although useful, demographic and psychographic data tend to be self-reported and static. Self-reported data (age, weight, height, what I say I believe, etc.) is also not the most accurate or credible.

Behavioral data (e.g. online web visits) is factual. It’s not self-reported. When captured in real time, and updated constantly, it provides a more accurate and dynamic portrait of your audience.

With dynamic data in your arsenal, you can slice and dice your audience in ways no other publication can. Best of all, your advertisers will pay a premium to reach those uber-specific segments.